A £12m contract to supply Howdens Joinery with new kitchen manufacturing machinery has been awarded to Biesse.
The Italian woodworking machinery manufacturer described the order, awarded following the Ligna exhibition in Hannover, as the most significant single project it had ever been received.
“During the next 24 months we will supply Howdens Joinery Co with the technology necessary to complete its investment plans and production expansion programme,” Biesse said in a statement.
Biesse said the project was evidence of it becoming more of a global player in the “systems business” sector.
Howdens head of investor relations Gary Rawlinson told TTJ the order focused on two panel machining lines at the Runcorn, Cheshire and Howden, East Yorkshire factories. Each line will consist of a number of different woodworking machines performing cutting, drilling and laminating operations on wood-based panels.
“The biggest reason for this investment is we need increased capacity to enable us to manufacture more products,” he said. “It positions us for the growth we are expecting over the coming years. We see the business growing quite significantly.”
Mr Rawlinson said having new panel manufacturing lines at each factory also gave Howdens a robust approach to manufacturing with security of supply to its depots.
Howdens originally announced in March that it was planning to invest £20m in state-of-the-art production technology at Runcorn and Howden factories.
No start date has been set for installation, though Howdens confirmed it was a two-year project, scheduled for completion in late 2012/early 2013.
The project is expected to be one of the largest investments in UK furniture production in recent years.
Howdens services trade only customers from about 500 depots, selling around 400,000 kitchens annually.
The group recorded a pre-tax profits of £100m in 2010 from sales of £807m.
